At the time of the 12th anniversary of 9/11, our country finds itself and allies confronting the actions of another out-of-control Middle-Eastern ruler. Syria’s Bashar al-Assad reportedly killed in excess of 1,000, including women and children, through a chemical attack in August in Damascus.

America again debates whether to intervene in the Middle East, which has been called “the graveyard of empires.” Back at home, another graveyard has suddenly appeared, claiming victims of its own through chemical weapons. I refer to the local pharmacy, which now offers potentially abortion-inducing drugs over the counter without a prescription.

Mass marketed to women under innocent-sounding names like “Plan B” and “Next Choice,” many prefer to call these drugs emergency contraceptives. The science behind them, however, shows otherwise.*

According to mechanisms described on its own website, Plan B One-Step works by “preventing fertilization of an egg” (the uniting of the sperm with the egg) or by “preventing attachment (implantation) to the uterus” (womb). Therein lies the problem.

If life begins at conception, the moment in which all of our DNA is set, then knowingly preventing the implantation of that fertilized egg—that conceptus to use a Latin term—to the uterine wall is denying life to that pre-born boy or girl.

But there’s more. While drugs like Plan B are effective if taken within days of sexual contact, newer drugs are coming to market that have a longer time window. The so-called “morning-after pill” becomes the “week-after pill” and so on. Where will it end?

Whereas oral contraceptives require a prescription and oversight of a medical doctor, now women, regardless of age, can acquire and use these drugs on an unlimited, unsupervised basis. The tragedy of taking such drugs is compounded in the fact that many women and young girls who use them do not recognize the consequences, for themselves or their offspring.

These potential chemical abortions, which come as if through a vending machine, promise to erase away “the problem” for the mother, in this case an unintended pregnancy. In God’s economy, however, only He has the right to give and take away life. What should Christians do about all of this?

 

///Pray

Whether a tyrant in a far away land or an irresponsible big pharmacy company at home, no problem is too large for our God. He is the blessed controller of all the affairs of men and women, and it is high time we redouble our prayer efforts. If we are truly “fearfully and wonderfully made” by God in our mother’s wombs (Psalm 139), then we must beg the Creator of life to continue to be our Sustainer of life, in the face of a nation courting destruction.

 

///Say

For many, the growing problem of chemical abortions is new news. Each year, we see fewer and fewer abortion clinics, and we rejoice in that development. Meanwhile, the average abortion of the future only takes a different shape, now through a trip to the pharmacy and all in the privacy of one’s home. It is the duty of elected officials to create policies that hinder, not help, such chemical abortions. Talk to your neighbors, church members and elected officials today to see what we can do together.

 

///Lead the way

Regardless of her station in life, no woman ought to feel so ashamed or desperate as to feel compelled to have an abortion. Christians should be increasingly renowned for our willingness to assist any and all facing unplanned pregnancies, offering material, emotional and spiritual help.

While the supply of abortion skyrockets, we now must work to reduce the demand for abortion through Christian action. Only then can we stem the tide of these chemical weapons of mass destruction. God help us.

*For more on the science behind Plan B, see pharmacist Derek McCarver’s column at www.baptistmessenger.com/planb.